Pacific Defense Awarded USAF Phase II Development of Modular, Open Architecture Sensor for Cislunar Space Situational Awareness Mission
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Pacific Defense, a leading provider of Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) products and solutions, announced it has signed a $9.4M Phase II contract with the Space Control Technology Branch of AFRL to complete development of a low size, weight, and power (SWaP) sensor built on MOSA principles to address the rapidly expanding challenge of space situational awareness (SSA) in the cislunar regime. The “Moonraker” system builds upon Pacific Defense’s expertise in MOSA system development, leveraging 3U software-defined radio (SDR) and graphics processing unit (GPU) technology and an open software framework comprised of company and industry-provided SSA applications. The Phase II effort will advance the work started in Phase I with the goal of producing flight-ready sensors.
“Pacific Defense will demonstrate how an open architecture approach accelerates development – from concept to a flight deliverable sensor within 24 months.”
“Moonraker presents a fresh approach to space payload design and support for this critical mission,” said Bryan Terlecky, Vice President of Space Systems at Pacific Defense. “Pacific Defense will demonstrate how an open architecture approach accelerates development – from concept to a flight deliverable sensor within 24 months.”
“The AFRL Space Control team is excited to work with Pacific Defense to research, develop, and demonstrate these innovative and cost-effective sensing capabilities for cislunar space,” said Brian Engberg, Chief, Space Control Technology Branch. “This capability will help us achieve a multi-layered ability that ensures cislunar space remains a safe and transparent operational environment.”
The Phase II contract has 39 months of performance culminating in the delivery of a qualified sensor for on-orbit demonstration.
About Pacific Defense
Headquartered in El Segundo, California, Pacific Defense takes an organic, commercial-minded approach to developing military-use advanced solutions delivering EW, SIGINT, Comms, and C2 capabilities to US and International customers, with a particular focus on CMOSS solutions. Products are designed from the outset for modern, AI-driven autonomy with CMOSS and SOSA-aligned hardware and software. This includes state-of-the-art processing that can readily follow the evolution of commercial technology with complete data sharing across networks and platforms. See more information at www.pacific-defense.com.
